World news | The Guardian

Labour face first electoral test since general election with more than 1,600 council seats up for grabs

Long-awaited costings of more than 200 policies show Coalition would gut long list of environment and clean energy programs if returned to power

Many countries impose a form of inheritance tax on deceased estates, but does Albanese's policy fit the bill?

Murder accused urged Simon Patterson to change his mind about not attending special meal', Victorian court hears

Politicians say Yoweri Museveni is prosecuting opponents on politically motivated charges before 2026 electionUgandan opposition politicians have accused the president, Yoweri Museveni, of attempting to quash dissent by prosecuting opponents on politically motivated charges in military courts in the run-up to presidential and legislative elections next year.The government is pushing to introduce a law to allow military tribunals to try civilians despite a supreme court ban on the practice. Continue reading...

Kyiv-based Centre for Civil Liberties says tortured inmates bypassed amid focus on territory and security guaranteesUkrainian and Russian civil society leaders have called for the unconditional release of thousands of Ukrainian civilians being held in Russian captivity, pushing for world leaders to make it a central part of any peace deal.Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Kyiv-based Centre for Civil Liberties, which won the 2022 Nobel peace prize, said most of the discussion on ending the conflict, led by Donald Trump's administration, focused solely on territories and potential security guarantees. Continue reading...

Of course she didn't. Gifted on climate policy, she used all six of her questions to call for another child abuse enquiryOn days like these, Keir Starmer might come to believe there is a God after all. Fair to say the prime minister has been under the cosh recently. His popularity ratings tanking as people continue to feel fed up that nothing still appears to be working as it should. The local elections on Thursday are unlikely to provide any joy for Labour with Reform ahead in several polls. Even the election of Mark Carney has been a mixed blessing. A reminder that some politicians get rewarded for taking a tough line on Agent Orange. The Lib Dems have declared themselves honorary Canadians.To cap it all, Tony Blair had just published a report on climate policy that even his best friends might consider to have been unhelpful". Tony is a former politician who is unable to go gently into the dark night. Eighteen years after stepping down as prime minister, he still yearns for relevance. Continue reading...

At least 11 civilians and security officials killed in Druze-majority areas around the capital on WednesdayAt least 11 civilians and security officials were killed in ongoing clashes in a town near Damascus on Wednesday, state media reported, the second consecutive day of fighting in Druze-majority areas around Syria's capital.Reports said fighting had started overnight in the town of Ashrafiah Sahnaya, south-west of Damascus, after unknown gunmen attacked a security checkpoint. An attack on the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana a day earlier left at least 10 people dead, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Continue reading...

Pop singer's tour has been mocked online and she was criticised for taking commercial spaceflight, but she tells fans please know I am OK'Following criticism of her latest tour, new music and her trip to the edge of space on Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin craft, Katy Perry has written an emotional message explaining how the public opprobrium has affected her.Perry wrote the message under an Instagram post by a fan group, who booked a billboard in Times Square to congratulate her on the opening week of her Lifetimes tour. Continue reading...

Business owners will be able to apply for up to 20,000 for measures such as covered seating and mudproof car parksThe landscapes are as spectacular as the welcome is warm in the Welsh valleys, mountain villages and harbour towns, but the weather can, to put it mildly, be unreliable.In an attempt to counter a trend of visitors staying away due to the threat of chilly sogginess, the Welsh government is launching a million-pound weather proofing" fund for tourism businesses. Continue reading...

Critical care paramedic Christopher Wilkinson arrived at Westfield 30 minutes after Joel Cauchi attacked 16 people, killing six

Temperatures south Asians dread each year arrive early as experts talk of ever shorter transition to summer-like heatThe summer conditions south Asian countries dread each year have arrived alarmingly early, and it's only April. Much of India and Pakistan is already sweltering in heatwave conditions, in what scientists say is fast becoming the new normal".Temperatures in the region typically climb through May, peaking in June before the monsoon brings relief. But this year, the heat has come early. As far as Asia and the Indian subcontinent are concerned, there was a quick transition from a short window of spring conditions to summer-like heat," said GP Sharma, the meteorology president of Skymet, India's leading private forecaster. Continue reading...

Report follows inquest jury's conclusion that Jacqueline Anne Potter killed herself after mental health declineA coroner has expressed wide-ranging concerns about how the NHS cares for women during menopause after the death of a 54-year-old teacher who killed herself after a decline in her mental health.Jacqueline Anne Potter took her own life during overnight leave from an acute psychiatric unit in Somerset where she was being looked after because of mental health issues exacerbated by menopause. Continue reading...

Victorian supreme court judge tells jury that charges relating to Simon Patterson have been droppedThe trial of Erin Patterson for allegedly murdering her in-laws by serving them a lunch laced with death cap mushrooms has started in a Victorian court.Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Opposition leader finds himself under siege as prime minister takes campaign into Brisbane and Labor plays nuclear mind games

Researchers have compared the monotreme's traits with the Kryoryctes cadburyi, an ancient water-dwelling creature that lived in Australia more than 100m years ago

Escalation from US military suggests previous restraints on causing civilian casualties have been relaxedI am the candidate of peace," Donald Trump declared on the campaign trail last November. Three months into his presidency, not only is the war in Ukraine continuing and the war in Gaza restarted, but in Yemen, the number of civilian casualties caused by US bombing is rapidly and deliberately escalating.Sixty-eight were killed overnight, the Houthis said, when the US military bombed a detention centre holding African migrants in Saada, north-west Yemen, as part of a campaign against the rebel group. In the words of the US Central Command (Centcom), its purpose is to restore freedom of navigation" in the Red Sea and, most significantly, American deterrence". Continue reading...

Phones, traffic lights, Spanish parliament and newsrooms all reportedly affected as metro stations are plunged into darkness

Acknowledgment, after long silence over deployment, comes as Russia claims it has recaptured Kursk regionVladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un have confirmed for the first time that North Korea has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine, with both leaders describing the soldiers as heroes".The acknowledgment comes amid claims by the Kremlin - contested by Ukraine - that North Korean forces helped recapture Russia's Kursk region. Continue reading...

Spravato, derived from a popular club drug and also known as esketamine, offers hope to tens of thousands of Australians living with chronic mental illness

Indian navy showcases its strike capability, while Pakistani minister says nuclear weapons are targeted at you'India's navy test-fired missiles on Sunday, showcasing its ability to carry out long-range, precision offensive" strikes, as tensions with Pakistan rise after last week's terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.Indian Navy ships undertook successful multiple anti-ship firings to re-validate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems, and crew for long-range precision offensive strike," the navy posted on X, as the prime minister, Narendra Modi, promised a harsh response" to the attack at a tourist site, the deadliest against civilians in Kashmir in 25 years. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Uzo Mbonu describes being targeted and completely isolated' by colleagues at HMP SwalesideA black former prison officer has said he suffers flashbacks and nightmares after colleagues in a high-security jail subjected him to extreme racist abuse and managers failed to support him.Nigerian-born Uzo Mbonu said he felt he was picked on and ostracised by other officers at HMP Swaleside in Kent because he did not have a British accent, did not understand the jokes his colleagues made, and challenged things he felt were going wrong. Continue reading...

Mourners express sadness and gratitude, while special mass in St Peter's Square attracts 200,000 peopleThousands of people queued to visit Pope Francis's tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica the day after heads of state, royalty and hundreds of thousands of mourners attended his funeral in Rome.Many crossed themselves and took photos on their phones as they filed past the tomb, marked simply with the name Franciscus. Continue reading...

Government hails safeguarding of jobs as 55,000-tonne load and other imminent supplies mean blast furnaces have fuelSteelmaking at Scunthorpe will continue for months, the government has said, after it confirmed that a shipment of more than 55,000 tonnes of coking coal arrived in the UK this weekend.The shipment - more than four times the weight of the Shard, western Europe's tallest building - landed at the Immingham bulk terminal on the Humber River on Sunday and will be taken by rail the 20 miles to the British Steel site to power its blast furnaces. Continue reading...

Polling predicts victory for party in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull/East Yorkshire with the Greens possibly taking West of EnglandThere are six mayoral elections next week. Two of them are for single-authority mayors (Doncaster and North Tyneside), but the others are for combined-authority mayors (or regional mayors - like metro mayors, but not just covering city regions). Today YouGov has released polling covering all four of these contests and it suggests Reform UK is on course to win two of them easily. And the Green party is narrowly ahead in a third, the poll suggests.Here are the polling figures.In theory the Tories should be winning in Lincolnshire as they hold most of the parliamentary seats in the area and have dominated local politics forever. But it's also the most Reform-friendly part of the country. It contains Richard Tice's constituency and numerous seats in which they came second. Plus their candidate is a former Tory MP - Andrea Jenkyns, famous for her Boris Johnson obsession and making a middle finger gesture at a crowd outside Downing Street. She is, by all accounts, quite a few sandwiches short of a picnic but, nevertheless, is strong favourite to win. Large chunks of local Conservative parties, including several councillors, have already defected. Continue reading...

Alda Curtis, who earned US$1 for the t-shirt she sold on RedBubble, had US$600 removed from her PayPal account without explanation

Authorities warn of mudslides during intense rainfall, as Kenya is hit by deadly flash flooding

The 46-year-old allegedly recorded video on her phone of abuse against elderly patients at a home in Grasmere

Number of recorded offences rose to 516,971 last year, though retailers fear data severely underestimates' scale of problemThe number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has risen to the highest level on record, according to official figures, surpassing half a million offences for the first time in 2024.A total of 516,971 shoplifting offences were recorded last year, a 20% increase on the 429,873 recorded in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics. Continue reading...

UK anti-financial crime agency's change in guidance hopes to induce more firms to step forward and report suspected wrongdoingThe Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has said it is prepared to let companies avoid prosecution if they self-report suspected financial crime and cooperate with investigators, in an important change to its previous guidance.The SFO, which investigates complex financial crimes, fraud and corruption, said companies that flag potential breaches would be offered the chance to negotiate a deferred prosecution agreement" (DPA), apart from in some exceptional" circumstances. Continue reading...

Labour backbenchers demand clarity on practical impact of transgender people's use of toilets and hospital wardsMinisters have come under pressure to provide answers on how last week's supreme court ruling on gender identity will affect the daily lives of transgender people, amid confusion over issues such as toilet provision and hospital wards.Keir Starmer said he welcomed what he called real clarity" and a welcome step forward" in his first response to the court decision, which ruled that woman" in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman. Continue reading...

The most animated jousting on Channel 9's great debate' came when both leaders were invited to rebuff the biggest lie' their opponent has pushed during the Australian election campaign

Move expected to lead to league tables' showing which nationalities are more associated with particular crimes

Worshippers gathered in Rome for the Easter weekend reflect on legacy of pontiff who pushed the limitsBill Nicoletti and his family, from Philadelphia, were among the thousands gathered in St Peter's Square for Easter Sunday mass when Pope Francis arrived in his open-air popemobile.The vehicle cruised through the square, stopping occasionally for the pontiff to bless babies that were brought towards him, as the delighted crowd shouted Viva il papa!" (Long live the pope!) Continue reading...

Martin Scorsese, Russell Crowe, Whoopi Goldberg and Eva Longoria are among stars remembering late pope who died aged 88

UN, Palestinian Red Crescent and civil defence service condemn lack of accountability after Israeli investigationThe UN's humanitarian agency, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Gaza's civil defence service have rejected the findings of an Israeli military investigation that concluded the killings of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers in Rafah last month were caused by professional failures".Eight PRCS paramedics, six members of the civil defence rescue agency and one employee of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, were carrying out two rescue missions when they were shot and killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza in the early hours of 23 March. Continue reading...

Russian military confirms Easter truce' is over and fighting has begun again as Ukrainian says Moscow launched 96 drones and three missiles overnight. This live blog is closed

Easter truce' ordered by Putin on Saturday but Ukraine president says Russian army continuing efforts to advance. This live blog is closed

Ukraine reports drone and artillery strikes over Easter weekend, while Moscow also claims ceasefire breaches by KyivVolodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Vladimir Putin's Easter ceasefire as a fake PR" exercise and said Russian troops had continued their drone and artillery attacks across many parts of the frontline.Citing a report from Ukraine's commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelenskyy said Russia was still using heavy weapons and since 10am on Sunday an increase in Russian shelling had been observed, he said. Continue reading...

Rating agency downgrades Ineos Quattro as it says trade barriers' could affect it for next two yearsSir Jim Ratcliffe's loss-making chemicals business could take longer than expected to recover its financial health because of Donald Trump's trade tariffs, analysts have said.The billionaire industrialist has faced growing concerns over the state of his chemicals group amid problems with his business interests in Manchester United and All Blacks rugby. Continue reading...

Laurie Lee and Robert Graves among English-speaking Quixotes' in new book celebrating literary love for all things SpanishAlmost 200 years ago, the pioneering British travel writer Richard Ford offered an observation that has been happily ignored by the legions of authors who have traipsed in his dusty footsteps across Spain, toting notebooks, the odd violin or Bible, and, of course, their own particular prejudices.Nothing causes more pain to Spaniards", Ford noted in his 1845 Handbook for Travellers in Spain, than to see volume after volume written by foreigners about their country." Continue reading...

After smelling fragrances inmates create poems, prose or drawings that recall holidays, park walks and sweet shopsSmell it, but don't stick your nose straight in it," says Michael O'Shaughnessy, pulling a small white card, sealed twice in ziplock bags, out of a metal chest. Waft it, close your eyes. Does it remind you of anything?"O'Shaughnessy, an illustrator and senior lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, first began using smells with art students, asking them to develop projects and concepts" based on scents because it's a leveller". Continue reading...

Russia touted as possible destination for Iran's uranium stockpile and could also act as arbiter of deal breachesRussia could play a key role in a deal on the future of Iran's nuclear programme, with Moscow being touted not only as a possible destination for Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but also as a possible arbiter of deal breaches.Donald Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers in 2018 during his first term, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Continue reading...

Worshippers are frisked on entering temple in Kandy where relic is held and photography is strictly prohibitedSri Lankan police have launched an investigation into a photo circulated on social media claiming to show a Buddha tooth relic, which has gone on display under tight security.The Criminal Investigation Department was ordered to determine whether the widely shared image was taken during the rare display of the relic, police said. Continue reading...

Pope Francis has attributed two miracles to the London-born teenager, who built websites for church and died of leukaemiaHe was a London-born teenager with leukaemia who spread his faith by building websites, later gaining the moniker God's influencer".And now Carlo Acutis, a computer prodigy who died at the age of 15 in 2006, will become the first millennial canonised by the Catholic church next week, in St Peter's Square. Continue reading...

After the Legalise Cannabis party's strong 2022 election performance, Fiona Patten says she has unfinished business'

Scheme to boost British film industry leads to Universal Pictures pocketing millions of pounds for blockbuster Jurassic World: RebirthA leafy corner to the west of Watford was transformed into a jungle last year. Authentic-looking exotic flowers lined the floor, tree trunks soared up to an artificial canopy and reeds hung from their branches. Peering between them was Hollywood A-lister Scarlett Johansson.The extravagant construction was a set in Sky Studios Elstree where the movie Jurassic World: Rebirth was being made. Filming there, instead of in an actual jungle, enabled Universal Pictures to pocket millions of pounds of UK taxpayers' money to partially cover its blockbuster costs. Continue reading...

Dozens of MPs are angry at their party, despite frantic efforts by whips and government ministers to assuage them We just go to the park': making the most of Easter in a child-poverty hotspotLabour MPs opposed to the government's massive 5bn of benefit cuts say they will refuse to support legislation to implement them, even if more money is offered by ministers to alleviate child poverty in an attempt to win them over.Legislation will be introduced to the House of Commons in early June to allow the cuts to come into force. They will include tightening the criteria for personal independence payments (Pip) for people with disabilities, to limit the number of people who can claim it. Under the changes, people who are not able to wash the lower half of their body, for example, will no longer be able to claim Pip unless they have another limiting condition. Continue reading...

Inmates complain of rashes and fever, echoing the events that led Dartmoor jail to close last yearThe government faces further potential legal action over concerns about levels of radon gas at a second prison, after Dartmoor jail was forced to close.Ministry of Justice officials have ordered radon detection equipment to be installed at Lindholme prison near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, where prisoners have reported feeling unwell with symptoms such as headaches, rashes and fever. Continue reading...

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